Merkel: Climate change must be addressed
WASHINGTON, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- Climate change can no longer be ignored from either a scientific or an economic viewpoint, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told the U.S. Congress Tuesday.
"We need an agreement on one objective: Global warming must not exceed 2 degrees Celsius," Merkel said about December's U.N. Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen, Denmark. "To achieve this, we need the readiness of all countries to accept internationally binding obligations. We cannot afford missing the objectives in climate protection that science tells us have to be met."
Anything less, she told the joint session through the translator, "would not only be irresponsible from an environmental point of view, it would also be technologically shortsighted, for the development of new technologies in the field of energy offers great opportunities for growth and innovative jobs."
Merkel said today's generation must prove itself capable of meeting 21st century challenges, meaning tearing down philosophical walls just as Germans tore down the Berlin Wall to unify the country 20 years ago.
"(What) is important is to see to it that we tear down walls in the minds of people, walls that separate different concepts of life that make it difficult, time and again, for us to understand each other all over the world," she said.
Concerning the Middle East, she said, different solutions are available to create peaceful coexistence.
"Tolerance and showing tolerance means showing respect for the history, the tradition, the religion and the cultural identity of others," she said. "Tolerance does not mean anything goes."
Finishing her remarks in English, Merkel said the Freedom Bell in Berlin, just as Philadelphia's Liberty Bell, is a symbol that "reminds us that freedom does not come about of itself. It must be struggled for, and then defended anew, every day of our lives."
Same-sex marriage, medical pot on ballots
WASHINGTON, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- Same-sex marriage, medical marijuana and casino gambling lead the list of measures voters in several states across the United States considered Tuesday.
Six states have 26 measures on their ballots for the 2009 Election Day, down from the 33.2 average number of initiatives common in odd-year elections, the National Council of State Legislatures said on its Web site.
Voters in Maine and Washington considered ratcheting back the rights of same-sex couples Tuesday.
In Maine, voters were asked to overturn a law permitting same-sex marriage. In Washington, voters determined whether to repeal a law giving domestic partnership rights to same-sex and unmarried senior couples that are equivalent to the rights provided by marriage.
Maine voters also were asked to consider amending existing medical marijuana laws to expand the list of conditions for which it can be prescribed and set up a procedure to grow the list in the future without a public vote. The measure also would create and regulate a dispensary system, among other things.
Ohio voters considered whether to allow one casino to be built in each of four specific cities. Tuesday's ballot question was the fifth time since 1990 that Ohio voters were asked to approve casino gambling -- the four previous initiatives failed.
Other measures states put to their voters involved setting revenue limits and several bonding questions.
Election Day 2009 also featured three races that political pundits painted as an early referendum on U.S. President Barack Obama.
Going into Tuesday's elections Republican challengers were doing well against Democratic hopefuls in New Jersey and Virginia races for governor. Polls indicate Republican challenger Chris Christie in a statistical dead heat with Democratic incumbent Jon Corzine in New Jersey and GOP challenger Bob McDonnell was holding a lead over Democratic candidate Creigh Deeds.
A congressional election in upstate New York has turned into a litmus test for conservatives. Locally GOP-endorsed Dede Scozzafava dropped out and endorsed Democratic candidate Bill Owens following a backlash by Republican conservatives who put up their own candidate, Doug Hoffman.
Poll: 54 percent approve of Obama's job
WASHINGTON, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama, a year after his historic election, finds his approval rating slightly above 50 percent, a CNN poll indicated Tuesday.
Fifty-four percent of the people questioned said they approved of how Obama is handling his presidential duties, a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey said. Forty-five percent of respondents said they disapproved.
"Obama's approval rating of 54 percent is nearly identical to the 53 percent of the vote he won a year ago," CNN Polling Director Keating Holland said. "It's a different story when we turn to ideology. His approval rating among liberals is 7 points higher than the number of liberals who voted for him. But among conservatives, the number who like Obama today is down 10 points compared to his share of the vote among that group in 2008."
The results indicate only 45 percent said Obama has a clear plan for solving the country's problems.
Survey results indicate more than half have a positive view of Obama on three of the 14 issues quizzed. Obama received a 62 percent approval rating on the environment and 57 percent approve of his handling of the government response to the H1N1 virus. Fifty-one percent approve of how Obama is handling foreign policy overall even though he gets some of his lowest scores on Iraq and Afghanistan.
The CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll contacted by phone 1,018 adults Oct.30-Nov. 1. The margin of error is 3 percentage points.
Gore says 'proud' to invest green in green
WASHINGTON, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore said Tuesday he's proud to invest in green companies and is not a "carbon billionaire" as portrayed in a published report.
"I am proud to put my money where my mouth is for the past 30 years," Gore said during ABC's "Good Morning America." "And though that is not the majority of my business activities, I absolutely believe in investing in accordance with my beliefs and my values."
The New York Times, in its Tuesday edition, called Gore the first "carbon billionaire," saying he has profited from policies he supported.
Gore said he thinks the United States will succeed in moving toward renewable energy sources. He said the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December will be another step in attaining that goal, and provide an opportunity to "create millions of new jobs here at home and reduce our dangerous dependence on foreign oil by relying on energy that is here in the United States, renewable energy that creates jobs that can't be outsourced."
While President Barack Obama hasn't committed yet to attending the conference, Gore said he felt "certain" Obama would go.
"(This) conference is very crucial," Gore said. "First, because the scientists have been saying for quite some time we still have time to avoid the worst of the consequences of this cataclysm that is now unfolding."
Czech president signs Lisbon treaty
PRAGUE, Czech Republic, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- Czech President Vaclav Klaus signed the Lisbon treaty Tuesday, meaning the agreement can come into force as the European Union's governing framework.
Klaus was an opponent of the treaty until the end, Financial Times reported, only signing the document hours after the Czech constitutional court ruled the agreement did not violate the country's Constitution.
Even at the last minute, Klaus called the court ruling biased, intoning "the Czech Republic will stop being a sovereign state" before announcing he had signed the treaty at 3 p.m. local time, the British business newspaper reported.
Klaus and other opponents contend the treaty will lead to tighter European integration and too much power in Brussels, the Times said. The treaty had been approved by the Czech Parliament last year.
The court challenge was brought by conservative lawmakers who argued the treaty violated national laws, the EUobserver reported.
Pavel Rychetsky, the court's chief justice, told state-run TV he had determined the treaty "is not in conflict with the constitutional law of the Czech Republic."
The country is the last EU member state to fully ratify the treaty, which must have the approval of all members to put its provisions into effect. The process had been held up by Klaus, a strong skeptic of the European Union.
The EUobserver said Klaus backed down from his opposition last week by offering to sign the accord if the Czech Republic was given the power to opt out of the requirements of the treaty's human rights charter.
